The Academic God Becomes an Internet Sensation After Joining a Dating Show - C18 - BiliBili

Bai Wenle quickly caught up to Qing Lin.

At this hour, the interactive zone wasn’t crowded. The moment they stepped inside, the sharp scent of seawater immediately filled the air accompanied by the rhythmic sound of splashing waves.

“Wenle?” Qing Lin glanced over at the breathless Bai Wenle. “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming?”

“I…” Bai Wenle paused for a moment before replying, “Well, since I’m already here, I might as well check it out.”

[I love Lele’s clear and adorable stupidity so much]

Qing Lin didn’t press further. “I’m waiting here for the sea lion show, but the next one doesn’t start for another forty minutes. Want to check out the dolphins with me first?”

With his hands stuffed in his pockets, Bai Wenle gave the ground a half-hearted kick. He couldn’t tell if Qing Lin truly didn’t mind his company or was quietly scheming something. “…Sure.”

The two of them walked down the steps from the sea lion performance area.

[How did this plot developed into them going on a date? LOL]

[Gotta say, I’m kinda into this ship—cold, high-IQ top student x not-so-bright, hot-tempered rich kid]

[Nah nah nah, two bottoms can’t be endgame]

Bai Wenle kept sneaking glances at Qing Lin along the way, his brows furrowed tightly.
He was completely baffled.

What was so great about this guy, anyway? Why would Xu-ge be interested in him?

Sure, Qing Lin was… fine. Quite good-looking, indeed. And yeah, the guy was pretty sharp.

But still, he wasn’t good enough for Xu-ge.

After all, his Xu-ge was a top-tier star in the entertainment industry, with millions of album sales and a fanbase that spanned the globe. And Qing Lin? If this were set in ancient times, it’d be a textbook example of an ill-matched couple from different family standings.

Now look at himself. Four million followers on BiliBili, a solid face card, and a family that had been close with Xu-ge’s for years. However you looked at it, they were clearly the better match.

Was Qing Lin even worthy?

The more he thought about it, the more Bai Wenle felt like he was winning.

Then, from up ahead, came a pair of voices.

“Is that him?”

“Yeah yeah, that’s definitely him!”

Oh? Looks like they ran into some fans.

It was a couple, both of them repeatedly sneaking glances at him and Qing Lin, both sneaking glances their way, clearly mustering up the courage to come over.

Bai Wenle casually straightened his collar, proud.

See that, Qing Lin? This is what a real difference in popularity looks like.

Then the girl called out, “Qing Lin!”

Bai Wenle: “?”

Qing Lin looked up at the approaching couple and gave a polite nod. “Ah, hello.”

The girl let out an excited squeal, quickly covering her mouth with one hand while eagerly smacking her boyfriend on the shoulder. “Aaaahhh! We actually saw him in person! Lin baby, I’m a huge mama fan! My son is so handsome! Wow, you’re even more adorable in real life!”

After hearing all that, Qing Lin slowly raised an eyebrow: “?”

[HAHAHAHAHA I’m dying! Look at Qing Lin’s confused face]

[No but seriously, our Lin does have a fan club! It’s called the ‘Lin Baby Protection Squad’! Come join us fellow fans!]

[Sobbing… I wanna confess to my wifey in person too… My LP’s too hot, I just wanna mess around with him too~]

The girl beamed. “Lin baby, you’ve maxed out my sapiosexuality. How can you be both this smart and this cute? I keep switching between being your mom fan and your wife fan!”

Qing Lin looked a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and said, “Thanks for supporting me.”

Bai Wenle was not pleased.

What a fox. Qing Lin was such a little fox spirit. This girl already had a boyfriend, yet she kept gushing about being Qing Lin’s fan. Just look at the poor guy, he was definitely going to be angry…

Then the guy spoke up, “Uh, Lin-god, I was wondering… when are you planning to upload your next video on BiliBili?”

Bai Wenle: …?

Even Qing Lin was caught off guard at the mention of BiliBili.

He watched as the guy took out his phone. “Someone dug up your old livestreams after the dating show aired. Dude, they were insane. That was the first time I actually understood the Chebyshev inequality. The video hit over a million views!”

Bai Wenle leaned over for a peek.

What the hell!

Since when did he have 700,000 followers?!

Last time Bai Wenle checked, the guy only had 10,000!

The girl giggled proudly. “My boyfriend’s studying for grad school~”

The guy added, “Could you post a heads-up next time you go live on BiliBili? I really wanted to study along with you!”

[Whoa, Qing Lin’s actually that awesome? Oh right, he did get a guaranteed spot at Tsinghua]

[Getting slapped in the face has never felt this satisfying. For real. He’s amazing!]

[That livestream was legendary. Solved a whole mock Math 1 exam in forty minutes. I bowed on the spot.]

Qing Lin thanked them quickly and briefly explained a few things. Once the couple realized the filming was still in progress, they quietly left without causing any more disruption.

Now Bai Wenle was practically drowning in jealousy.

That…. that…what even was that?!

Before he could make sense of his tangled emotions, they reached the dolphin interaction zone. Shen Xuzhi had apparently wrapped up his work and was already waiting by the pool.

The moment Qing Lin spotted him, whether it was because of the dolphins or Shen Xuzhi himself, his eyes lit up. He ran up the steps with a spark of excitement. “Shen Laoshi!”

The ground was slick with water, so as Qing Lin got close, Shen Xuzhi instinctively reached out to steady him, one hand gently at his waist.

“Are you here for the dolphins too?” Qing Lin’s voice was noticeably upbeat, filled with genuine delight.

Shen Xuzhi nodded, his whole demeanor softening in Qing Lin’s presence. “Yeah.”

They were allowed to interact directly with the dolphins.

The trainer led them to the edge of the pool and introduced a sleek dolphin. “This one’s Ellie. She’s a cool little lady.”

Qing Lin had never seen a dolphin this close before. “Can I touch her?”

“Of course you can!” the trainer replied.

Qing Lin reached out and brushed his fingers along Ellie’s side. Her skin was unbelievably smooth, with a soft, rubbery texture that felt almost unreal.

Ellie clearly took a liking to him. After a few gentle strokes, she let out a cheerful chirp and playfully nudged Qing Lin’s cheek with her snout.

Getting kissed by a dolphin felt cool and a bit firm, with an odd texture, somewhat tough, yet full of playful energy.

Qing Lin’s eyes widened as he turned to Shen Xuzhi in surprise.

The trainer laughed. “She wants to kiss you! Ellie really likes good-looking boys.”

No sooner had those words left her mouth than Ellie surfaced again and planted two more enthusiastic kisses on Qing Lin’s cheek.

The dolphin’s enthusiasm completely overwhelmed him. It tickled, and he couldn’t stop laughing.
“Ah, slow down! Hahaha!”

Just as Ellie was about to go for his lips, Shen Xuzhi reached out and blocked the dolphin’s snout with his hand.

His dark eyes glanced over, and his voice was unexpectedly cold and sharp. “That’s enough.”

Live comments flooded in.

[Shocking news! Shen Xuzhi is actually jealous of a dolphin HAHAHAHA]

[Ah Zhi be like: My Linlin’s kisses are exclusively mine]

[Lin baby! Hurry up! Kiss him! He’s basically begging for one!]

Ellie clearly wasn’t happy. She dove under the water, and when she popped up again, she sent a full splash straight into Shen Xuzhi’s face.

Shen Xuzhi: “……”

Qing Lin burst out laughing at the sight of soaked Shen Xuzhi.

His round eyes sparkled, and when he smiled, his whole face softened, radiating warmth and tenderness.

Shen Xuzhi wiped the water from his face. But when he looked up and saw Qing Lin’s brilliant smile, he couldn’t help lowering his head and letting out a quiet chuckle too.

Meanwhile, Bai Wenle was completely out of it, his mind still spinning over Qing Lin’s 700,000 BiliBili followers.

How amazing.

While the two were still busy playing, he took the opportunity to walk over to Qing Lin and remarked, “Your follower count’s shooting up pretty fast, huh.”

“I remember the last time someone’s numbers spiked like that, they got reported for botting and ended up in jail the next day,” Bai Wenle said with an air of feigned nonchalance. “Unless you’ve got fans coming in from some other platform, isn’t it all a bit too over the top?”

Leaning in, he lowered his voice and asked, “Did you buy—”

Before he could finish, a head suddenly popped out of the water and splashed him full in the face.

Completely caught off guard, Bai Wenle blinked the water from his eyes just as the person in the pool pulled off their diving mask and leaned against the edge.

“Hey, Lin! Is that really you? Can’t believe I ran into you here! What are the odds!” He shouted.

Bai Wenle shook the water off his clothes and looked over.

This guy… looked familiar.

Wait a minute. Wasn’t that the insanely popular Chinese-German tech YouTuber?

Daniel!

Daniel looked at Qing Lin, his voice bubbling with excitement. “Yo, are you making a comeback, my superstar streamer?”